12.18.2011

Eastern Cup #1 - Craftsbury

After 2 days of below zero (*C) temps, the first NENSA/TD Bank Eastern Cup race is complete. The course, a 1.45 km loop of man-made snow, was a good, hilly trail at Craftsbury Nordic Center.
Day 1 was a day of classic racing, starting with a 1.4 km classic sprint: a qualifier for the 3k afternoon race. The podium lacked the one USST skier there, Skyler Davis, who had just returned from a World Cup trip in Europe.

I was right in the same area I was in last year, trailing my main competitors from Ford Sayre by about 10 seconds in the sprint and 20-30 in the 3k, coming in 149th and 153rd respectively.

Sunday was my day, sort of. A 10k skate. Upon arrival, the air temperature was -13*C, becoming a balmy -10*C by race time (12:46:30). When it came down to the start time, I had already been having a hectic day: getting punched in the nose, whacked in the shin... Then came the laps. 6 laps of the 1.45 km course (somehow adds up to 10 km... ITS METRIC!) with college skiers surrounding you. The hat and glasses came off lap 3, and my flop across the line came at the finish. I came in 153rd (again) with a time of 25:03.2, "personal record"!